Multiple options to decline authorization of payment card charges

ABSTRACT

A payment card transaction notification and authorization system provides a notification message to a payment card holder of an attempted transaction using his/her payment card. The system provides multiple options for the payment card holder to decline authorization of the attempted transaction. The multiple options comprise a first option for the payment card holder to decline authorization of an undesirable but non-fraudulent transaction, and a second option for the payment card holder to decline authorization of a fraudulent transaction.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to methods and systems for authorizingcharges using a payment card such as a credit card, a debit card, or acalling card.

BACKGROUND

Fraudulent payment card charges are a concern for many consumers. Thefear of fraud inhibits many consumers from making electronic commercetransactions, e.g. via the Internet. One factor that contributes to thefear is the delay between a fraudulent transaction and the receipt of abill. Because of the delay, fraudulent transactions can go unchecked forup to a month.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is pointed out with particularity in the appendedclaims. However, other features are described in the following detaileddescription in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a system to authorize anddecline payment card charges in real-time or near-real-time;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of an embodiment of a method of authorizing anddeclining payment card charges in real-time or near-real-time;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a communication device displaying afirst attempted transaction notification message;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of the communication device displaying asecond attempted transaction notification message; and

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of the communication device displaying athird attempted transaction notification message.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention make a card holder aware of paymentcard transactions in real-time or near-real-time, and provide the cardholder with multiple options to decline authorization for undesirabletransactions. The multiple decline options may include a first declineoption that simply declines authorization of a transaction (e.g. if thecard holder's son or daughter is attempting to make a transaction thatis undesirable to the card holder), and a second decline option thatdeclines authorization of a transaction and indicates that thetransaction may be fraudulent (e.g. if someone is attempting to make afraudulent transaction with a stolen payment card or stolen payment cardnumber).

Embodiments of the present invention are described with reference toFIG. 1, which is a block diagram of an embodiment of a system toauthorize and decline payment card charges in real-time ornear-real-time, and FIG. 2, which is a flow chart of an embodiment of amethod of authorizing and declining payment card charges in real-time ornear-real-time. The charges are associated with a payment card 10 thatbelongs to a payment card holder 12. Examples of the payment card 10include, but are not limited to, a credit card, a debit card, atelephone calling card, or any account that allows charges against itregardless of the existence of a physical token or card.

As indicated by block 14, the method comprises an individual 16attempting a transaction using the payment card 10. The individual 16may comprise the payment card holder 12, someone authorized by thepayment card holder 12 to pay for one or more transaction using thepayment card 10, or someone unauthorized by the payment card holder 12to make any transaction using the payment card 10. An example of anauthorized individual is the holder's 12 son or daughter. An example ofan unauthorized individual is someone who stole the payment card 10 oris otherwise fraudulently using an account number of the payment card10.

The transaction may be attempted at a “brick-and-mortar” merchant 20such as a retailer having a physical presence for customers. Typically,the payment card 10 is read by a payment card reader 22 coupled to atransaction terminal 24 at the brick-and-mortar merchant 20. Forexample, the payment card reader 22 may comprise a magnetic stripereader to read a magnetic stripe on a credit card or a debit card.Alternatively, the transaction may be attempted using an online merchant26, wherein an account number of the payment card 10 is communicated tothe online merchant 26 to attempt the transaction. As anotheralternative, the transaction may be attempted over a telephone call. Forexample, the transaction may involve the individual 16 saying theaccount number of the payment card 10 to the merchant over the phone.

As indicated by block 30, the method comprises providing a notificationmessage 32 to the payment card holder 12 of the attempted transactionusing his/her payment card 10. The notification message 32 is providedto a communication device 34 of the holder 12 in either real-time ornear-real-time by a payment card transaction notification andauthorization system 36 in communication with the transaction terminal24. Examples of the communication device 34 include, but are not limitedto, a personal computer, a wireless telephone, a landline telephone, awireless pager (e.g. numeric, alphanumeric, and/or two-way), a wirelesspersonal digital assistant (PDA), and a fax machine. The notificationmessage 32 may have various forms. Examples of forms of the notificationmessage 32 include, but are not limited to, an instant message, ane-mail message, a posting to a Web site, a chat message, a telephonecall, a voice mail message, a short messaging service (SMS) message, apaging message, and a fax message.

The payment card transaction notification and authorization system 36communicates with the communication device 34 and the transactionterminal 24 via one or more telecommunication networks 40. Examples ofthe one or more telecommunication networks 40 include, but are notlimited to, a landline telephone system, a wireless telephone system, asatellite telecommunication system, a digital subscriber line network,and the Internet.

The notification message 32 indicates any combination of date and timeof the attempted transaction, all or part of a number of the paymentcard 10 (e.g. the part being the last four digits of the number), a nameof the merchant 20, an identifier of the merchant 20, a location of themerchant 20 (e.g. address, city, state and postal code), a registernumber to identify the transaction terminal 24, and an amount (e.g. indollars) of the attempted transaction. The notification message 32 isdisplayed by a display of the communication device 34 so that thepayment card holder 12 can review any of the aforementioned information.The display can be visual, audible, or a combination of both.

The transaction notification and authorization system 36 can becontrolled by the issuer of the payment card 10. In one embodiment, thetransaction notification and authorization system 36 also performsconventional acts of receiving authorization requests from retailersthat swipe its payment cards, and providing authorization numbers backto retailers in response thereto. The platform that processes theseauthorization requests can be adapted or tied to another platform toperform the acts described herein (e.g. formatting and sending anotification message according to a stored profile of the payment cardholder 12).

As indicated by block 42, the method comprises providing an option 44for the holder 12 to accept/authorize the attempted transaction. Asindicated by block 46, the method comprises providing multiple options50 for the holder 12 to decline authorization of the attemptedtransaction. In one embodiment, the multiple options 50 comprise a firstdecline option and a second decline option. The first decline optionenables the payment card holder 12 to decline authorization of anundesirable, but non-fraudulent transaction. The second decline optionenables the payment card holder 12 to decline authorization of afraudulent transaction. Other decline options may be provided inalternative embodiments.

A specific example of an undesirable, but non-fraudulent transactionattempt is if the payment card holder's 12 son/daughter attempts to renta video with the payment card 10 when he/she is only allowed to use thepayment card 10 to buy gasoline and pick up the dry cleaning. Anotherspecific example of an undesirable, but non-fraudulent transactionattempt is if an employee uses a corporate credit card at an undesirablemerchant. For example, if an employee is traveling on company matters,he/she is authorized to use the corporate credit card to pay for a hotelrack rate, but is unauthorized to use the corporate credit card to buyliquor or to rent a movie.

As indicated by block 52, the method comprises receiving a selectionmade by the payment card holder 12 using the communication device 34 ofone of the options. The selection is received by the payment cardtransaction notification and authorization system 36 via the one or moretelecommunication networks 40. The selection can be made using a varietyof input devices of the communication device. Examples of the inputdevice include, but are not limited to, a pointing device such as amouse, pointing stick, touchpad or trackball; a voice input device suchas a microphone; an alphanumeric keyboard; telephone dialing keys; softbuttons or other keys on a wireless telephone; and a touchscreen.

As indicated by block 54, different acts are performed based on theselection. If the authorize option 44 is selected by the holder 12, anact of sending a message to the merchant 20 is performed as indicated byblock 56. The message indicates that the attempted transaction has beenauthorized by the holder 12. The message is sent to the transactionterminal 24 via the one or more telecommunication networks 40. Themessage can be displayed by a display 58 coupled to the transactionterminal 24.

If the first decline option is selected by the holder 12, an act ofsending a first decline message to the merchant 20 is performed asindicated by block 60. The first decline message indicates that theattempted transaction is to be declined, and that the merchant 20 is toreturn the payment card to the individual 16. The message is sent to thetransaction terminal 24 via the one or more telecommunication networks40, and displayed by the display 58.

If the second decline option is selected by the holder 12, an act ofsending a second decline message to the merchant 20 is performed asindicated by block 62. The second decline message indicates that theattempted transaction is to be declined, and that the merchant is towithhold returning the payment card to the individual 16. The message issent to the transaction terminal 24 via the one or moretelecommunication networks 40, and displayed by the display 58. Otheracts 64 and 66 that may be performed based on the selection of thesecond decline option are locking an account associated with the paymentcard 10, and automatically reporting the fraudulent transaction to a lawenforcement authority 66. Optionally, the fraudulent transaction can bereported to one or more other contacts either in addition to or as analternative to the law enforcement authority. The other contacts may beone or more credit reporting agencies.

Optionally, for a selection of any decline option, the holder 12 mayenter or select a reason code using the communication device 34 toindicate why the attempted transaction has been declined. The paymentcard transaction notification and authorization system 36 forwards thereason code to the transaction terminal 24 so that a message 72indicating same is shown on the display 58.

FIGS. 3 to 5 illustrate examples of a communication device 80 displayingattempted transaction notification messages. In these examples, thecommunication device 80 comprises a wireless telephone of the paymentcard holder 12.

Consider the payment card holder 12 giving his payment card 10 to hisson to buy gasoline and to pick up dry cleaning. FIG. 3 illustrates afirst attempted transaction notification message 82 displayed by thecommunication device 80 when the son attempts to buy gasoline using thepayment card 10. The message 82 indicates a date and time of theattempted transaction, the account number of the payment card 10, thename of the merchant being “Gas Station”, the location of the merchantbeing in Austin, Tex., and the transaction amount being $20. The holder12 is provided three options: accept, decline-undesirable, anddecline-fraudulent. Each of the options can be selected using soft keys84 or 86, or telephone dialing keys 90. Consider the holder 12 selectingthe accept option. The transaction is authorized and completed.

FIG. 4 illustrates a second attempted transaction notification message92 displayed by the communication device 80 when the son attempts to buya DVD using the payment card 10. The message 92 indicates a date andtime of the attempted transaction, the account number of the paymentcard 10, the name of the merchant being “Video Store”, the location ofthe merchant being in Austin, Tex., and the transaction amount being$15. Since the son was to use the payment card 10 only for gasoline anddry cleaning, the holder 12 selects the decline-undesirable option.Thus, the attempted transaction using the payment card 10 is notcompleted. The son could complete the attempted transaction by payingcash, for example.

FIG. 5 illustrates a third attempted transaction notification message 94displayed by the communication device 80. The message 94 indicates adate and time of an attempted transaction, an account number of adifferent payment card of the holder 12, the name of the merchant being“Gas Station”, the location of the merchant being in Wichita, Kans., andthe transaction amount being $250. Based on the message 94, the holder12 checks his wallet and discovers that this payment card is missing.The holder 12, assuming that the payment card has been stolen, selectsthe decline-fraudulent option. In response thereto, the attemptedtransaction using the payment card is not completed, the payment card iswithheld by the gas station in Wichita, the account of the payment cardis locked by the issuer, and law enforcement is contacted.

Two more examples of using embodiments of the present invention are asfollows. The payment card holder 12 uses her debit card 10 to pay forgroceries. The cashier totals her purchase using the transactionterminal 24 and swipes her debit card 10 using the card reader 22. Whilethe groceries are being bagged, a two-way pager or wireless phone of theholder 12 vibrates to alert of an incoming message from the card issuer.The message reads “authorize $43.27 at Grocery Store? YES?NO-UNDESIRABLE? or NO-FRAUDULENT?” The holder 12 selects “YES”. The cardissuer returns an authorization code to the transaction terminal 24 andthe cashier hands a receipt to the holder 12.

A thief picks up the holder's 12 purse/wallet including her credit card,that she left at the grocery store, and heads to a consumer electronicsstore. The thief attempts to buy a top-of-the-line 55-inch plasmatelevision using the credit card. The clerk swipes the credit card andcalls for a stocker to bring up the television. The holder's 12 wirelesstelephone rings and a voice asks “will you authorize a purchase of a$9,875 at the Electronics Store on West Main Street? Please say ‘yes’,‘no’, or ‘no and lock my account.’” The holder 12 replies by saying “noand lock my account”. The card issuer locks the account, declines toauthorize the purchase, and notifies the clerk that fraud is inprogress. The clerk calls for security. The holder 12 calls the localpolice. Everyone meets at the consumer electronics store.

Real-time and near-real-time notification of card transactions make acard holder immediately or nearly immediately (e.g. in the same day)aware of fraudulent or undesirable usage. This allows the card holder topromptly report fraud to the card issuer, limiting the charges andpreventing further charges.

Optionally, the transaction notification and authorization system 36 cansend notification messages to multiple parties. For example, a businesswith a company credit card may want notification messages sent to thecard holder and to a finance/budget clerk.

As another option, the transaction notification and authorization system36 can apply threshold-based rules for notification to the payment cardholder 12. Examples of the rules include, but are not limited to: notifyif a purchase amount exceeds a threshold (e.g. in dollars); notify by atype of merchant (e.g. for food, gas, retail, Internet); notify if usageexceeds a threshold in a time period (e.g. this is the fifth purchasetoday); notify if usage occurs in a time window (e.g. between 11:00 PMand 5:00 AM); and notify if the credit limit will be exceeded by theattempted transaction.

In one embodiment using a threshold rule, the payment card holder 12 canuse the communication device 34 to send a message, such as an SMSmessage, to the payment card transaction and notification system 36 topre-approve a large expenditure amount over a threshold he/she had set.For instance, the payment card holder 12 may have a $100 limit on allpurchases, but pre-approves a $10,000 limit for the purchase of aplasma-screen television. In this way, the payment card transactionnotification and authorization system 36 acts to increase a purchaselimit threshold for the payment card 10 based on a message received fromthe payment card holder 12.

The description provided herein focuses on a single payment card for asingle card holder. However, it should be apparent that the transactionnotification and authorization system 36 is to be used for multiplepayment cards issued to multiple card holders.

The transaction notification and authorization system 36 can be embodiedby a computer system. Computer-readable program code stored by acomputer-readable medium causes the computer system to perform actsdescribed herein. Examples of the computer-readable medium include, butare not limited to, an electronic medium such as an electronic memory, amagnetic medium such as a hard disk or a floppy disk, and an opticalmedium such as an optical disk.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the disclosedembodiments may be modified in numerous ways and may assume manyembodiments other than the particular forms specifically set out anddescribed herein. For example, some acts shown in FIG. 2 may beperformed in an alternative order or in parallel. For example, the actsindicated by blocks 62, 64 and 66 may be performed in an alternativeorder or in parallel.

The above disclosed subject matter is to be considered illustrative, andnot restrictive, and the appended claims are intended to cover all suchmodifications, enhancements, and other embodiments which fall within thetrue spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, to the maximumextent allowed by law, the scope of the present invention is to bedetermined by the broadest permissible interpretation of the followingclaims and their equivalents, and shall not be restricted or limited bythe foregoing detailed description.

1. A method performed by a payment card processor, comprising: sending afirst notification message to a first device associated with a paymentcard holder of a payment card and a second notification message to asecond device associated with a second party other than the payment cardholder when a purchase amount of an attempted transaction exceeds amaximum purchase threshold, wherein the second party is affiliated witha business associated with the payment card; and processing theattempted transaction without sending the first notification message andthe second notification message when the purchase amount of theattempted transaction does not exceed the maximum purchase threshold;wherein the first notification message and the second notificationmessage each include a plurality of options to decline authorization ofthe attempted transaction.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein theplurality of options comprise a first option to decline authorization ofan undesirable but non-fraudulent transaction, and a second option todecline authorization of a fraudulent transaction.
 3. The method ofclaim 2, further comprising: receiving a selection of the first option;and based on the selection, providing a message to a merchant involvedin the attempted transaction to decline the attempted transaction and toreturn the payment card to an individual attempting the transaction. 4.The method of claim 2, further comprising: receiving a selection of thesecond option; and based on the selection, providing a message to amerchant involved in the attempted transaction to decline the attemptedtransaction and to withhold the payment card from an individualattempting the transaction.
 5. The method of claim 2, furthercomprising: receiving a selection of the second option; and based on theselection, locking an account associated with the payment card.
 6. Themethod of claim 2, further comprising: receiving a selection of thesecond option; and based on the selection, automatically reporting thefraudulent transaction to a law enforcement authority.
 7. The method ofclaim 2, further comprising: receiving a selection of the second option;and based on the selection, automatically reporting the fraudulenttransaction to a credit reporting agency.
 8. The method of claim 1,further comprising: receiving a message to pre-approve a particularpayment card transaction above the maximum threshold transaction basedon a threshold rule and processing the particular transaction withoutsending the first notification message and the second notificationmessage.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending the firstnotification message and the second notification message when a secondattempted transaction occurs that does not exceed the maximum purchasethreshold but does exceed a threshold number of uses of the payment cardin a particular time period.
 10. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising sending the first notification message and the secondnotification message when a second attempted transaction occurs thatdoes not exceed the maximum purchase threshold but does occur in aparticular time window.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the attemptedtransaction is processed without sending the first notification messageand the second notification message when the attempted transaction is ata payment card holder approved type of merchant.
 12. The method of claim1, wherein the first notification message and the second notificationare sent when the attempted transaction exceeds a payment card holderusage threshold.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the attemptedtransaction is processed without sending the first notification messageand the second notification message when the attempted transactionoccurs during a payment card holder time window threshold.
 14. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the first notification message and the secondnotification message are sent when the attempted transaction exceeds apayment card holder credit limit threshold.
 15. A system comprising: apayment card transaction notification and authorization system that usesa telecommunication network to: send a notification message from apayment card processor to a device associated with a payment card holderof an attempted transaction using a payment card when a purchase amountof the attempted transaction exceeds a maximum purchase threshold;provide a first option for the payment card holder to declineauthorization of the attempted transaction upon receiving thenotification message for a non-fraudulent transaction; provide a secondoption for the payment card holder to decline authorization of theattempted transaction upon receiving the notification message for afraudulent transaction; decline authorization and send a message to amerchant involved in the attempted transaction to return the paymentcard to an individual making the attempted transaction in response toreceiving information indicating an input on the device selecting thefirst option; decline authorization and send a message to the merchantinvolved in the attempted transaction to withhold the payment card fromthe individual making the attempted transaction in response to receivinginformation indicating the input on the device selecting the secondoption; and process the attempted transaction without sending thenotification message to the device when the attempted transaction doesnot exceed the maximum purchase threshold.
 16. The system of claim 15,wherein the payment card transaction notification and authorizationsystem uses the telecommunications network to send a second notificationwhen the purchase amount of the attempted transaction does not exceedthe maximum purchase threshold but the attempted transaction exceeds athreshold number of uses of the payment card in a particular timeperiod.
 17. The system of claim 16, wherein the payment card transactionnotification and authorization system uses the telecommunicationsnetwork to send a second notification when the purchase amount of theattempted transaction does not exceed the maximum purchase threshold butthe attempted transaction occurs in a particular time window.
 18. Thesystem of claim 16, wherein the payment card transaction notificationand authorization system uses the telecommunications network to send asecond notification when the purchase amount of the attemptedtransaction does not exceed the maximum purchase threshold but theattempted transaction would cause a credit limit of the payment card tobe exceeded.
 19. The system of claim 16, wherein the payment cardtransaction notification and authorization system is further configuredto automatically report the fraudulent transaction to a law enforcementauthority in response to receiving information indicating an inputselecting the second option by the payment card holder.
 20. The systemof claim 16, wherein the payment card transaction notification andauthorization system is further configured to automatically report thefraudulent transaction to a credit reporting agency in response toreceiving information indicating an input selecting the second option bythe payment card holder.
 21. The system claim 15, wherein the paymentcard transaction notification and authorization system uses thetelecommunications network to have an account associated with thepayment card locked in response to receiving information indicating aninput selecting the second option by the payment card holder.
 22. Thesystem of claim 15, wherein the payment card transaction notificationand authorization system is further configured to send a reason code toa merchant involved in the attempted transaction to indicate why theattempted transaction has been declined in response to receivinginformation indicating selection of the first option or the secondoption by the payment card holder.
 23. The system of claim 15, whereinthe payment card transaction notification and authorization system isfurther configured to provide an option for the payment card holder toauthorize the attempted transaction.
 24. The system of claim 15, whereinthe notification message indicates a transaction amount, a merchantname, and at least part of a number of the payment card.
 25. The systemof claim 15, wherein the payment card transaction notification andauthorization system is further configured to increase a purchase limitthreshold for the payment card based on a short message service (SMS)message received from the payment card holder.
 26. The system of claim15, wherein the attempted transaction is processed without sending thenotification message when the attempted transaction is at a payment cardholder approved type of merchant.
 27. The system of claim 15, whereinthe notification message is sent when the attempted transaction exceedsa payment card holder usage threshold.
 28. The system of claim 15,wherein the attempted transaction is processed without sending thenotification message when the attempted transaction occurs during apayment card holder time window threshold.
 29. The system of claim 15,wherein the notification message is sent when the attempted transactionexceeds a payment card holder credit limit threshold.
 30. A methodcomprising: sending a notification message from a payment card processorto a device associated with a payment card holder of an attemptedtransaction using a payment card when a purchase amount of the attemptedtransaction exceeds a maximum purchase threshold, the notificationmessage indicating a transaction amount, a merchant name, and at leastpart of a number of the payment card, and processing the attemptedtransaction without sending the notification message to the device whenthe attempted transaction does not exceed the maximum purchasethreshold; providing an option for the payment card holder to authorizethe transaction; providing multiple options for the payment card holderto decline authorization of the attempted transaction, the multipleoptions comprising a first option for the payment card holder to declineauthorization of an undesirable but non-fraudulent transaction, and asecond option for the payment card holder to decline authorization of afraudulent transaction; receiving a selection of one of the options madeby the payment card holder; when the first option is selected, providinga message to a merchant involved in the attempted transaction to declinethe attempted transaction and to return the payment card to anindividual attempting the transaction; and when the second option isselected, locking an account associated with the payment card andproviding a second message to the merchant involved in the attemptedtransaction to decline the attempted transaction and to withhold thepayment card from the individual attempting the transaction.